Bonus is that my local Ducati dealer have lowered the price of the ST3 to shift them out of the shop.

Traded my 2005 MTS 1000DS for a brand new 2007 ST3S-ABS, including carbon fiber cans, hard full luggage, touring seat, tinted screen, et. al.

The after-market clutch slave, heated grips, sliders and HID are getting transplanted.

Roll on summer.

I decided that as I’d managed quite well without panniers in the past, I would save the $1600. As part of the trade in of my FJ1200, they gave me a Ventura rack and bag. These are a quality and well designed, New zealand made luggage carrier.

In many hours searching the web, I was fascinated by how so many people had such a similar field of “sports tourer” contenders as I was looking at. The notable ones such as the ST Sprint and VFR were joined by what I thought were less obvious inclusions such BM’s R1200R, R1100S and Guzzi 1200 Sport.

I think that what many riders are looking for in a sports tourer, other than comfort and performance, is that very hard to define trait called character. You read in magazines that this or that model has little or no character, or as is often the case, describing a bike as having some character can be a back handed compliment as a prelude to criticsism of other aspects of the machine.

What I’m trying to say is that the typical Guzzi test will bag it, but praise its character, while the Honda does everything you ask of it , but is called too bland.

Many factors contribute to the perception of character, but maybe as with other forms of attraction, it really only fully develops with time and the experiences you have with your machine.

My old FJ had heaps of character, as does the even older XT 550 I still have.

I test rode a VFR800, an R1200R and the Guzzi 1200 Sport and looked at the Sprint, all of which are great bikes, but since having my first ride on a pre-owned 01 ST4 and two following rides on the demo ST3s, my mind and heart were heading to that red motorcyle from Bologna !!

I was a bit like “Goldilocks” in the children’s nursery rhyme trying out the chairs….this one was too smooth, the other too big, I don’t like that colour……but this one is just right !

I’m about 5′8″ and find the comfort great, though I’ve still not done any longer rides yet. The seat height at 820mm is a whisker high, but as it is considerably lighter than the FJ, I’m easily getting more familiar with parking and manuevering it.

Many Thanks

Wayne

5400 miles later I’m convinced it was one of the most brilliant decisions I’ve ever made. The bike is perfect for me (52 and getting back into motorcycles after a 10 year hiatus due to wife and kids - no complaints about that).

In addition to weekends on Angeles Crest, I’ve ridden up and down the California coast (LA to Monterey) and did a track day at California Speedway (highly recommended). Just recently I acquired the Ducati/Termignoni exhaust system kit which includes a different ECU and airbox; awesome. Last week I took the pannier brackets off and raised the pipes (in total a 90 minute job the first time I tried it; easy enough to reverse).

I can’t imagine ever selling it. Thanks for the compelling review.

Any chance you could get a demo Triumph Sprint ST for a few days and review it? As I understand it, every Triumph dealer has one as a demo. Anyway, I’d love to hear your impressions of it versus the ST3.

Read all the posts thanks to everyone!

Chris

Just like many of you, I can’t find appropriate words to express my disappointment with Ducati’s decision to kill the production of the STx line.

I was so disappointed that, ergh… how do I say this… that I went to a Ducati dealer and got myself a new ST3S, while they still have some left.

Amazed that a motorcycle can provide such a soulless, dull riding experience.

The machine had absolutely no rider involvement. I kept looking down at it expecting to see an “Amana” or “Whirlpool” decal on the side. It truly is an appliance designed to transport one or two human beings from point A to point B.

Compared with my (or any) Ducati, it felt as though you could simply press the “TAKE ME HOME” or “TAKE ME TO WORK” button and contemplate your tax bracket and mortgage structure along the way.

I know now what Dylan means when he uses the word “visceral” to describe the Ducati riding experience. On a Ducati, you can feel the gear teeth mesh together when changing gears. You can sense how much torque is being applied to the clutch, and accurately judge whether the it’s necessary to pull the clutch in for the next gear change. You can hear the valves doing their job, and you can feel the flow of air through the engine.

Riding a Ducati is like having a backstage pass to the show. You get to enjoy the performance as a spectator, but you also get to participate in the performance as a member of the band.

Now, who wants to trade their ST3 for my Monster 900?

And yes the K1200S does look interesting. I was hoping to getting the next ST3 that Duc would come out with but that wont be happening.

I had a feeling something was wrong when I attended the Bike show in NYC last winter and walked…well I tried to walk into their booth…it was packed with people (The rocket scientist who designed their booth built walls around it with a skinny door to do through, it actually kept more people out of it than anything). But, in any case the ST3 was missing from the floor. I had a feeling they unconsciously were sending a message.

Ducati just had their dealer/owner’s meeting and the news is out now. Triumph’s got an interesting ST as well, looking very much like the ST3. Check it out

I would only offer this thought — BMW used to be an ‘old man’s bike’ (though I owned two in my mid twenties fwiw) but as a brand they’re getting younger every day and with every model introduction. The ‘new’ R1100S was a definite attempt to attract younger riders to the marquee and now with their entry into World Superbike, one has to think it won’t be long before we see a full blown Superbike… Personally I can’t wait… That being said most of their bikes do seem to attract / appeal to an older segment of the riding population…

D

Ducati, has what I think “the” nicest one out there, based on all aspects and category one who consider ready to pull the tiger. This Blog, the one we are on…was the decision factor for me. It basically confirm everything I suspected by a guy who did a great job reviewing the Bike.

I happen to be really lucky to have a great Ducati dealer near by which has a great service dept. Not the I’ve needed it. I have 4,500 miles and counting and I lover it and I average 48-50 MPG on country roads. It offers speed, looks/style…did I say looks, it’s reliable and oh yes it doesn’t break the bank.

Take one out and let us know how it goes. I suspect you be riding one soon. Best of luck